


Three guys hiding in a closet

by MordredLJselfship (mordredllewelynjones)



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Don't Like Don't Read, First Meetings, Just Harmless Fun, Love Confessions, M/M, Not Reader Insert, POV First Person, Polyamory, Self Ship, Self-Insert, Selfshiptober 2018, Transphobia, Violence, mild violence, self indulgent fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 19:17:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16181486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mordredllewelynjones/pseuds/MordredLJselfship
Summary: A self ship high school au fic idea that came to me in a dream so I wrote it down. LolSelf insert not reader insert. If you don't like it then don't read or interact.No sex or rude stuff in this story.(I only went to high school for 1 month before swapping to home ed and I never went to a fancy private school like the one in this fic so don't expect anything to be accurate.)





	Three guys hiding in a closet

I didn't really think before I did it. It was a spur of the moment sort of thing.

****

It was an unspoken rule at my school to remain standing as the children in the years above you walked past to take their seats, supposedly as a sign of respect towards those who were older than you. It was just an extra way for the teachers to engrain the notion of 'respect your elders' into our minds so that we would cause them less trouble. To be honest I had never seen the point. It didn't work. We still hated the teachers and often grew to resent the children in the years above us because of all the special treatment they received because getting to sit down first in assembly was just the beginning of the privileges one received once they got to six-form.

****

I watched as the boys in the year above me strutted past, convinced that just because they were the bosses of the playground that it meant they ruled the world. How I despised them and how I longed for the day when they realised just how wrong they were. Until that day, however, all I could do was wait as all the bullies that plagued my existence paraded past me and hope that it wouldn't be too long until I would be temporarily free from their presence.

****

The line slowed somewhat as Oswald Cobblepot limped past. The official story was that he had had an accident during P.E but everyone knew that wasn't true. He had been beaten half to death by some of the boys in his year and their attack had caused lasting damage to his leg. Not that he received much sympathy for it. For some reason even people in the years bellow, who were normally stood in quiet solidarity with the victims of six-form bullies, showed little compassion towards Oswald Cobblepot. He didn't let that bother him though. He kept soldiering on, as resilient and unfazed as ever.

****

I think that is why I did it because out of everyone in the school, teachers included, he was the only one I respected. I saluted. It was a small and brief motion of my hand. Blink and you'd have miss it which everyone did. Everyone except him. He stared at me in surprise then his eyes narrowed in anger and suspicion. I swallowed nervously. Actions weren't without consequences after all and somehow I doubted the outcome of today's would be one I found particularly pleasant.

****

"Why did you do that?"

****

I wasn't stupid enough to ask him to clarify. I knew what he was talking about anyway. It was a couple of hours later and Oswald had cornered me in one of the schools many courtyards. In retrospect I could see why he why he was cross, it must have looked like I was taking the piss. I mean, come on. Who just randomly salutes their fellow classmates for no apparent reason? I do, apparently, and now I was going to have to explain why. I took a deep breath.

****

"Because you never let them stop you. Despite what they have done to you, you refuse to grovel at their feet like they desperately want you to. Like they want all of us to. No one has ever stood up for you yet you still fight on and you manage to keep your dignity in spite of it all. Which I respect, by the way, whereas those guys hate it. At the end of the day they know that their power won't last forever. Once they leave school they are going to be nothing. It's people like you who get somewhere in life and they know that. That's why they target you because they fear the day when they'll be the ones at your mercy."

****

Having thus embarrassed myself I then proceeded to go bright red and stare at my shoes. The fact that I had obviously been thinking about Cobblepot and his predicament so much surprised even me. Yet must have been giving the matter a great deal of thought to come out with a statement so 'stalker-ish' in nature. Things really weren't going well. It all sounded so fabricated, even to my own ears, like I was just trying to wheedle my way out of trouble by sucking up to him. That sort of thing, however, has never been my style. Not that he would believe me if I told him that. 

****

There was a moments silence as I awaited my fate. I wasn't as unobservant as the others. I had seen the looks he shot at those who harmed him when their backs were turned and it was clear that Cobblepot was not a good person to cross.

****

Yet something of my sincerity must have come across to him because his next action was to hold out his hand which I accepted. "Oswald Cobblepot" he said politely. I let out a relieved sigh at this pleasant turn of events. It seemed as though Oswald had not been deterred by my lousy social skills after all. A moment later I found out why.

****

"My mother always tells me something similar. Not the bit about having them at my mercy. She's a saint, she could never entertain such a notion" Oswald admitted with a quiet chuckle "but she says that fear and jealousy drive people to act the way they do towards me. They resent success, she says. She thinks I'll be a great man one day and then people will respect me. I hope when that day comes I will be able to make her proud."

****

His voice and facial expression softened drastically when he talked about his mother and it was clear she meant a great deal to him. I couldn't help but find that quite endearing. "I'm certain you will" I assured him. He smiled shyly in way of a reply.

****

After that we were practically inseparable. As it turned out the two of us had a lot in common. We both felt and saw things same way and bonded quickly as a result. It was quite customary for the older students to have younger one follow them around as an 'assistant', although it was usually the kids from year 7 who were chosen for this task, so no one batted an eye at this.

****

Despite the fact that I helped Oswald out with things, however, carrying his bag for him and fetching his umbrella for example, ours was a relationship built on actual friendship. Neither one of us taking advantage of the other which is a situation so rare in this world and especial in a school like this. Yet in a place with such a set hierarchy we saw each other as equals. It was the two of us against the rest of the world and I don't think either of us ever expected that to change.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, I know what you are thinking. Salute, really?! What the hell?! In my own defence though during the one month when I went to high school I was going through a phase of always walking backwards down corridors, regardless of how crowded they were or what confused looks other people gave me, so this is actually very in character for me. Lol. :)  
> Also, this fic is just really random.


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